- Colon Irrigations
- Enemas
There are two sides to every story. Still further there are two ends to every tube and the food digestion canal is no exception. Irritating material can be and usually is introduced from the upper end but anyone engaged in the practice of medicine can confirm my statement that it is quite frequently introduced at the other end.
Naturally the introduction of the irritant is not done intentionally. In fact, it is very often done in an attempt to clean “the lower bowel” or to apply some medicine to it. Thus the traditional enema has been extended into quite elaborate colon irrigations. Under the assumption that sodium bicarbonate was a good cleansing agent, it is frequently used in the irrigating fluid. I assure you that this is a very harmful practice and leads to definite irritation of the colon if repeated time and again.
Another practice is to use saline solutions. While these are not as irritating locally, they bear the possibility that the patient will absorb more salt into his system than is good for him. This is particularly the case where there is a kidney irritation or circulatory disturbance.
Among the other solutions used is potassium permanganate which is supposed to be mildly antiseptic and to oxidize harmful substances present in the colon. It is my opinion, based on my experience, that the use of these substances in irrigation is not only unnecessary but frequently harmful.
If a physician decides that it would be wise to irrigate the colon, as indeed he may at times, plain water at the proper temperature, about 99° F., is the proper washing solution to be used. However, the frequent use of irrigations of this kind, even of plain water, can produce harmful effects in the colon as the organ was never constructed as a reservoir for fluids and the long continued presence of fluids there have a macerating effect which permits bacteria present to invade the walls of the colon.
What has been said with regard to irrigations is equally true with respect to enemas. The old-fashioned “soapsuds enema” is referred to. It is a hideous procedure operating as a remedy. While it is effective in relieving constipation, in most instances the price paid for it in damage to the tissues is certainly not worth its value as a means of treatment. The same may be said of glycerine suppositories. In the latter case, of course, the suppositories do not irritate the colon but they do irritate the lower rectum in many instances and this reflex brings about spasm in that organ. The presence of spasm interferes with the normal function of the colon and leads in time to actual cause of colitis.
